EXCLUSIVE. Along with 20 other critically ill Romanian patients, His Excellency Pimen received a revolutionary treatment for COVID-19: blood leaking against the cytokine storm | News, News Romania | freedom

of
Alexandra Nistoroiu,
Cătălin Tolontan,

Sunday, May 10, 2020, 3:01 p.m.

• In the case of His Eminence Pimen, the high prelate of Suceava, the method was used in addition to convalescent plasma, which is a different treatment from blood filtration.

CytoSorb is a blood filtration product and a treatment used experimentally in severe cases of COVID-19, in countries such as Germany, China, Italy and Israel.

In the United States, the treatment was approved in April for emergency use by the FDA (US Drug Administration).

What is blood filtration?

The therapy itself is based on an extracorporeal purification of the blood that reduces the excessive level of inflammatory mediators.

Basically the CytoSorb blood filtration solution is one of the brand names, but there are others, it can be used with standard hemodialysis, hemofiltration devices or ECMO devices found in hospitals around the world.

This “blood cleaning” method reduces the level of cytokines. It has already been shown to be useful in cases of sepsis, seasonal influenza, endocarditis in cardiac patients, exacerbations of chronic kidney disease, etc. Therefore, the idea of ​​being used in COVID-19 came at a time when hospitals realized that the virus causes an sometimes disproportionate immune response.

With the help of this therapy, the danger of life and death represented by the “cytokine storm” is avoided. Cytokines are not completely eliminated, but are reduced to a level that is no longer toxic.

10 patients treated in Timisoara, 3 in Cluj

“Yes, Romania quickly applied this method, which is superior technology,” explains Dorel Săndesc, president of the Romanian Intensive Care Society.

Even if filtering is technically easy, a filter, a cartridge, is inserted, but there are things to be aware of. Because it not only removes excess cytokines, it can also remove the cytokines necessary for an immune response from the body.

Dr. Dorel Sandesc:

Săndesc confirmed that “10 patients with COVID-19 were treated in this way in Timișoara and 3 in Cluj, and the treatment is also carried out in Bucharest.”

recommendations

What is COVID-19’s famous and dangerous “cytokine storm” and why it is important to be a target for antiviral treatments

What happens to patients treated with blood filtration?

“From the administration of the first kit, there is generally an improvement in the condition. Basically, the goal is for critically ill patients in ATI not to be intubated,” explains a specialist in the pharmaceutical industry.

Cytokines, molecules that transmit information between different cells, are used by the immune system as an alarm signal in the event of an attack by a pathogen.

When activated, cytokines recruit immune cells and direct them to the site of infection. In the case of an aggressive virus, such as the new coronavirus, the immune response may be disproportionate.

New research suggests that cytokine “storms” may lower T-cell counts, a type of white blood cell that plays a role in immune responses, affecting the severity of the disease.

recommendations

EXCLUSIVE. Along with 20 other critically ill Romanian patients, PSI received a revolutionary treatment for COVID-19: blood leak against cytokine storm

Romania has treated as many patients as the United States with the COVID filtration method

According to a press release from the company that produces the most widely used device worldwide, Cutosorn, so far 750 patients with COVID-19 have been treated worldwide, primarily in China, Italy and Germany.

Several clinical trials are currently underway in patients with COVID-19 to assess the efficacy of this type of device in severe COVID-19 infections, especially in Germany, which, according to the manufacturer, uses this method more.

Like any other treatment used in the fight against the new coronavirus, it is also experimental and supportive, it is not proven, because for such a new disease it is impossible to have scientifically proven treatments in all aspects.

Used for other sufferings in the last 6 years.

“I think I used this therapy for the first time in 2014, in intensive care at the University,” says Elena Copaciu, ATI primary care physician at the University Hospital in Bucharest.

It is used in patients with a hyperimmune response, generally in severe septic conditions. There are patients who still live today and have been saved thanks to this technique.

Elena Copaciu:

In the case of COVID-19, “the virus may not be there, but instead of infection, it remains the hyperimmune reaction that destroys the body and must be treated,” explains Dr. Elena Copaciu.

Filtration therapy is established in the national ATI program.

The National Institute of Infectious Diseases “Matei Balş” confirmed Libertatea’s use of the treatment.

“CytoSorb has been used in some cases, under the age of 10. There have been no funding issues, but patients should be instructed to do so. That is all they had,” Cătălin Apostolescu, the spokesperson for “Balş,” said a Libertatea.

We have been using this procedure for a long time, long before COVID-19 appeared, it is not something new. It is really very expensive. A filter can cost between 2,000 and 4,000 euros and, depending on the patient’s condition, it may need two to five filters. The costs exhaust you, but to save a man’s life, it’s worth it.

Dr. Cătălin Apostolescu:

Libertatea also asked Cătălin Apostolescu if he could confirm that His Eminence Pimen had been treated with CytoSorb: “No comment. Details about a patient’s treatment are confidential. “

Also read:

What is COVID-19’s famous and dangerous “cytokine storm” and why it is important to be a target for antiviral treatments

MEDICAL SOURCES: His Excellency Pimen received three doses of convalescent plasma, the newest anti-COVID treatment in Romania. The first patient treated in this way came out of Intensive Care.

GSP.RO

A soccer player killed his 5-year-old son: “I don’t have mental problems, but I didn’t love him”

HOROSCOPE

Horoscope May 10, 2020. Lions are concerned about their work and health